>> welcome to the "journal" coming to live on dw -- coming to you live on dw in berlin. a russian court freeze one member of the band pussy riot but since the other two back to jail. and two american scientists when the nobel prize for chemistry.

-- win the nobel prize for chemistry. >> one member of the russian band pussy riot has been freed by an appeals court in moscow. the other two had their sentences upheld. >> the three were convicted in august of hooliganism after what they called a punk prayer in protest of president vladimir putin. >> the case sparked an international outcry with westerners condemning the sentences as disproportionate. >> it was rewarded with a suspended sentence. but the judge told her she must be in good behavior until 2014. "do you understand that if you commit a crime or do not carry out your obligations, your

suspended sentence will be turned into a prison sentence?" >> the other two women were told their jail sentences had been upheld. their only hope is to appeal again. the member who was released was released because she did not take part in the so-called punk prayer in moscow cathedral. she was stopped outside before she could come in. the then insisted it was not politically motivated. "they probably want to make it clear that actions like this will not be tolerated by courts and that it is better not to criticize those in power." she was greeted by supporters in front of the court, but some demonstrated against her release. they want the band to show

regret for what they did. >> all three women's convictions still stand, and it looks like the kremlin's strategy has worked. many russians have forgotten that pussy riot just wanted to protest the way the church and state are intertwined in putin's russia. >> talks over a $45 million merger between bae and eas failed today. >> bankers and officials in paris and at eads blamed germany for the failure. officials in berlin painted a different picture, though, citing concerns about the fate of german production sites, the reaction of investors, and the symbolism of creating a giant military firm in the center of the country. >> the two companies were unable to overcome concerns raised by britain, france, and germany. berlin especially was worried about losing jobs and control

over strategically important technology. speaking in brussels, the german defense minister refused to accept any blame for the failure of the merger. >> this was a commercial decision made after many discussions. we have stated our opinion, and i have no further comments to make on that. >> from a business point of view, the deal made sense. the merger would have created the biggest company in the defense industry. combined, the firms would have employed more than 200,000 people and generated revenue of 38.5 billion euros, and it would have overtaken their american competitors -- lockheed martin and boeing. bae systems has a strong presence in the american market, whereas eads has never been as successful. for that reason, this could have been a missed opporunity. >> i would like to draw in our

political correspondent. simon, there was suggestion the deal collapsed because of german objections. what was it the germans were not happy about? >> it seems that germany, like france, was unwilling to give up state influence over this important defense company, which is what bae systems wanted them to do in order to secure more access to that all-important american defense market. i think germany was also worried it might be left out of important developments in military technology. the german authorities think that germany's interests are best served if this franco- german company retains control of the whole chain from research through to production. there's also a report that germans had suggested moving the headquarters of the merged company to munich, which would have annoyed the other two companies. >> was that all that was

blocking the deal from going ahead? >> in the and, you have to see this was a hugely difficult deal that involves getting agreement from two companies, three governments, and that is incredibly difficult to do. the euro crisis has not helped, and in the end, you have to say investors in this company have not been convinced of the logic of this deal. you can see that from the fact that the eas share price has risen sharply on the news of the collapse of these talks. >> the international monetary fund has called on europe's leaders to do more to tackle the eurozone debt crisis. at the imf's annual meeting, leaders said the flow of money out of searching countries was particularly country. the imf chief also urged greece to take more concrete and urgent action to cut its spending. >> let's turn to the markets now and take a quick peek at some numbers. the dax ended the day almost

0.5% down. euro stoxx 50 closed 2% down. the dow jones currently going down 1%. the euro is trading at $1.2897. >> in germany after months of intense public debate, the government has unveiled new legislation aimed at regulating circumcision of young boys. >> it is to overturn a regional court ruling in may that circumcision amounted to grievously bodily harm -- it seems to overturn a regional court ruling -- it aims to overturn a regional court ruling. >> the current law will end months of legal uncertainty for parents, doctors, and religious officials who carry out the procedure. the justice ministry says it will safeguard religious rites while guaranteeing children's

safety. >> i think with this bill, we are making it clear that jews and muslims will be able to continue their religious practices in germany. as long as they are compatible with certain regulations. >> the bill introduces new coke -- new conditions, allowing ritual male circumcision, only when the operation adheres to medical procedures. it can only be carried out when the child is not in danger, and parents must be informed about the risk. religious groups say they are happy with the bill, especially as it allows non-doctors to carry out the procedure on children up to six months old, but some pediatricians oppose the new law. >> such an operation should be delayed until the boy is a young adult and old enough to decide whether he wants to have it carried out or not. >> for many jews, this would be

unthinkable. according to religious tradition, boys must be circumcised when they are eight days old. if germany had banned the practice, it would have been the only country worldwide to do so. >> we have breaking news just in -- the turkish air force has forced a syrian passenger plane to land in ankara. turkish television reports the plane was stopped because officials suspected it was carrying weapons to the regime of the syrian president. the plan was on route from moscow to damascus -- the plan was en route from moscow to damascus. >> in kosovo, nato plans to refocus security operations on the unstable serb enclave in the north of the country. >> major contributor germany says the eu opposes police force was on the wrong track and placing too great an emphasis on forces there.

>> attacks on uniformed nato soldiers continue. >> the issue is pressing. germany is the biggest contributor to nato's peacekeeping force in kosovo. troops often struggle to maintain security in the troubled north of the country. the task should have been taken over by the close of a police by now, supported by the eu, but the transfer has not worked. germany has called on nato to find a solution. >> you will see some rebalancing in the coming months with a stronger focus on the north of kosovo, taking into account the ball a tile situation. >> that is good news for thomas, but he is calling for a complete overhaul. >> for this reason, we must also discussed within the european union how we can

strengthen the judicial and policing work so that the soldiers to what they are there to do. >> nato sent troops to close a vote to be police keepers not police. the defense ministers also discussed afghanistan. nato says its withdrawal plans are on course and talks to fix its strategy after the 2014 withdrawal are progressing well. >> i expect us to agree on a detailed outline early next year and to complete the planned well before the end of 2013. >> how many soldiers will stay in afghanistan as advisers has yet to be decided. >> in berlin, the foreign ministry is hosting a conference on international peacekeeping. >> the german foreign minister said demands to supply police forces should be affected in the security council itself. >> the main focus of the

conference so far has been on the need for specialized police training in conflict areas. >> liberia and west africa -- liberia in west africa has suffered through two civil wars. now, the united nations is helping the country establish its own police force, but the organization says it needs more experts to help with operations. crisis teams will need training for special circumstances. >> well versed in to investigate sexual and gender-based violence or to counter organized crime. >> the un also wants to promote more female police officers in africa. violence in africa is widespread in many parts of the continent. the german foreign minister told police representatives that un missions could go far in guiding against conflicts, but he says

emerging regions should have strong representation on the security council. >> the fact that the whole continent of latin america is not represented permanently in the security council [inaudible] >> germany has also called for stronger african representation at the united nations. and this year's nobel prize in chemistry goes to two u.s. researchers who work on cell receptors. >> a nobel committee member tried to startle journalists to prove a point. he was showing how a spike in adrenalin levels brings cell receptors into play. these receptors in form cells that the presence of noise or light. they make it possible for cells to adapt to changing conditions. in humans, they can help trigger the flight or fight mechanism.

cell receptors are the focus of this year's nobel prize winning research. robert lefkowitz was one of the winners and said the news was a shock. >> the phone rang, and i did not hear it. i wear ear plugs, and i do not wear them when i sleep, and my wife gave me an elbow, and there it was. a total surprise. >> brian kobilka, who shared the prize, says he hopes his development will spur the creation of new drugs. >> i hope we can translate these discoveries to develop safer, more effective drugs, and more economically developed drugs. >> the nobel prize this year is worth about 930,000 euros, to be split between the winners. the actual price ceremony will take place in december on the anniversary of alfred nobel's

death. >> we will be back in just one minute's time with more on news of tensions in the balkans. >> we will also look at the frankfurt book fair and some celebrities who dropped in for it. stick around.

>> welcome back. we turned our attention now to new tension in the western balkans, an area of bosnia and croatia where thousands of families live off the land, which is now under threat. >> the row has erupted along the river that flows through both countries. farmers are angry about plans to tap the system for new hydroelectric power systems further upstream. >> not only could it harm farming communities, the world wildlife fund has warned the government of bosnia and croatia

of a devastating impact on one of europe's rare wetlands. frank has this special report. >> the river flows peacefully through its delta down to the adriatic. it reaches croatia after winding its way through neighboring bosnia and herzegovina, but these waters are under threat. this environmentalist is paying a visit to people who live in the croatian part of the delta. most people here grow fruit and vegetables or work in the tourist trade. >> i am trying to live like my father did, but for how much longer? a big catastrophe is coming to the valley, and it is becoming a desert. >> others agree there are reasons for concern. >> people are afraid or angry. >> afraid about what? >> that we will lose water, and

water means life in here. >> it is the fresh water that is so important. it feeds in from several sources and is what keeps the river delta so lush, despite the fact that it is right next to the salty mediterranean. the fresh water comes from these mountains in neighboring bosnia- herzegovina. more precisely, in a semi- independent entity within bosnia that is populated predominantly by serbs. for decades now, some of the water from the mountains has been used to produce electricity. but now, there are plans to build even more hydroelectric power stations in the river delta. croatia wants to work together with bosnia on the project. it would mean even more water being siphoned away to be used to generate electricity.

>> each drop of this water actually would end it there. >> the result would be less water, but the power company waves this concern aside. >> yes, they are observing the project, studying the impact on the environment. croatia is also involved in the analysis. when we get all the data, croatia and bosnia-herzegovina will decide whether to realize the project. >> but a preliminary decision has already been made. the environmentalists say that water could be pumped out of this marshland. earlier this month, bosnia's republics signed an agreement with croatia to build three more

power stations. environmentalists and farmers on both sides of the border are worried about the future. the environmentalists are united in their campaign to stop the power stations. such unity is something rare in this very divided region. coming up, dw are down at the frankfurt book fair where some celebrities have made an appearance. >> first, other stories making news around the globe. the german president has visited the czech capital of prague, highlighting the reconciled relationship between his country and the czech republic. he said he felt respect for the not see occupation -- -- respect for their recovery from the nazi occupation. >> germany has a high proportion of citizens over 65 while just

13% of the occupied -- of the population are under 15. >> french police have uncovered an islamist terror cell in a paris suburb. special forces found weapons as well as chemicals and bomb- making equipment. the discovery follows the arrest of 12 suspects over the weekend. >> europe's foreign policy chief has strongly condemned capital punishment as cruel and inhumane. >> although the number of nations that carry out executions has dropped worldwide, the amount of people waiting to be executed in many countries continues to rise mang numbers related to capital punishment here the most shocking -- 18,715 people worldwide have a death sentence hanging over them. it is a record number and one that does not even count china, which does not publicly reported

number of convicts on death row. but human rights organizations believe the figures for china run into thousands. >> china does not appear in our statistics because china releases no figures. we assume that several thousand people were executed in china last year. >> that would mean that more people are executed in china than in the rest of the world combined. >> in the united states, 43 were executed. about the same as in the previous year. japan is another developed country that still applies capital punishment, and the process can take years. >> we are appealing in one case, a man who has been waiting for his execution for 44 years. he has been on death row for 44 years. based on the information we have, we believe he was unjustly

sentenced to death. >> excluding china, at least 680 people were executed in 2011 around the world. >> the frankfurt book fair is in full swing, but publishers are facing challenges like never before as digital books become more and more popular. >> publishers are trying to figure out a future where e- readers and ipads replace old fashioned, bound books, but one thing is for sure -- big personalities will always move erchandise. >> arnold schwarzenegger made his appearance for his memoir called "total recall." >> arnold schwarzenegger was back in familiar territory, promoting his newest entertainment product. this time, it is a book. he said he realized that riding was no easy task. >> this is about my life.

writing about it was a real challenge. i had to do something usually hate -- i had to dig into the past. >> his autobiography is 600 pages long. he said he wanted to send a message that in life, anything is possible. >> terminator, governator, educators -- the road goes on. >> schwarzenegger is known around the world, but for other authors at the fair, it is not so easy. there are countless titles on display here, and publishers are nervous as they confront the challenge of electronic books. >> we live in the era of digital publishing. there's no question that there are more and more readers who consume literature on their ipads or e-readers. in germany, the numbers are rising as well. >> the book fair has tried to

adjust. there are stands offering interactive books. one innovation -- 3d software for textbooks. software companies hope to make education more exciting with their offerings. >> there are some areas where textbooks are no longer so effective. that is where the cyberclassroom can take over. they can go into the third dimension. >> these new classrooms require active input from users. >> our correspondent is at the frankfurt book fair for us all week. how present our digital books at the fair this year? also, how much of a whole does digital technology have on the german market, would you say -- how much of a hold does digital technology have on the german market? >> the fare is like the biggest book shut you have ever been into, but when you look closely, you see that among these books and also the publishers are displaying their wares, everything is also geared to

digital, to reading from the screen. in the u.s., the proportion of books that are now sold digitally is 20%. in germany, that figure is only 2%. it has doubled in germany over the past few years, but it still very small. this is to do with the fact that in germany, there is a regulation regulated by the government called fixed price for books. this means that booksellers and publishers have agreed amongst themselves that they can sell books for a good price, so there is money to be made for real books, but they are very aware of the trend for digital books as well. >> definitely a rise in digital use. what about the digital book experience for children? some people are quite concerned that children will lose touch with the reading experience. >> i think kids love their comuters, don't they?

if they have a chance, they are going to be at the screen. the thing is that kids love stories. how is it that the story is told whether it is on the screen or inside paper and bits of cardboard, they are going to want the story. if there online, they have the chance to communicate with other readers, with someone else who is reading the same book is them, even though they may be on the other side of the world, and they have a chance to communicate with the author. that is what i hear from authors in frankfurt, that they are getting children writing in with their stories, with poems, and it is very much an interactive experience. >> fantastic. thank you very much for that report. and you are watching the "journal" on dw, so do not go away. >> see you soon. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--